A FAMILY bakery firm last night put up a substantial reward after learning that arson is suspected as the likely cause of a fire which gutted its factory.

Peter's Cathedral Bakers is offering £10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible for the blaze, which destroyed the company's bakery headquarters, in Durham, on Sunday, April 26.

All the staff on duty, who were forced to evacuate the premises, on the Dragonville Industrial Estate, have been interviewed by detectives.

But investigators admit they have so far failed to identify who started the fire, which developed in a store room containing plastic bakery trays.

Police and fire service specialists, backed by independent experts, have spent more than five weeks since the blaze trying to pinpoint the cause.

Detective Inspector Mick Nail, of Durham Police, who is leading the inquiry, said: "Having established where it began, fire service investigators have ruled out an electrical fault and it seems likely someone started it deliberately.

"We have interviewed all 60 members of staff who were on duty at the time the blaze began, at about 4pm, and no one has come forward with any useful information.

"The fire began in a room used to store a large number of plastic trays and these contributed to the speed and ferocity of the blaze."

The bakery's managing director Richard Knowles said: "We are absolutely sickened to learn that a fire that endangered lives, threatened the livelihoods of 700 people and destroyed the work of 40 years could have been started deliberately.

"From what we can gather, the fire brigade has found that a fire started at what is a fairly isolated part of the bakery, where all the produce trays are stored, washed and disinfected, and which was not in use on the Sunday.

"If this is the case, it's absolutely imperative that we find out who did start the fire, if indeed it was arson."

Mr Knowles, whose father Peter founded the business in December 1966, said the company and its insurers had jointly put up the £10,000 reward.

All 700 staff were told their jobs were safe in the wake of the fire, and the bakery rapidly transferred to the former Hibernia Foods factory in Peterlee, east Durham.

Following a rapid fitting-out of the disused unit, on the North-East Industrial Estate, production resumed and all Peters' 71 shops across the region reopened last week.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact Durham Police, on 0191-386 4222, or, anonymously, via the Crimestoppers free-phone line, on (0800) 555111.